Terrorist Taxes

If the first two-odd months of year 2005 are any indication, themilitancy-ridden state of Manipur appears to be moving into an even more viciouscycle of violence. 74 fatalities have been reported in 132 militancy-relatedincidents between January 1 and March 10, 2005. Militants account for more thanhalf of the fatalities with a total of 39 deaths, but there were 25 civilianfatalities as well. In comparison, the entire year 2004 - which saw significantescalation as a result of enormous political mismanagement and widespread civildisturbances - was witness to 219 insurgency-related deaths (Civilians-50;Security Forces (SF)-41; Militants-128). Year 2003 had seen198 fatalities (27civilians, 23 SFs, 148 militants).

Visibly, the current fatalities within militant ranks have been the result ofcontinuous military operations since September 2004 in a 'synchronisedonslaught', for which some successes have been claimed, though 10 SF personnelhave already fallen to militant attacks. But the claims of SF 'successes' areambiguous at best. 

The Naga-inhabited hill areas have been traditionally free from the militancyperpetrated by the Meitei outfits, and it is mostly the Valley which witnesses amajority of militant incidents and engagements with the SFs. There appears to belittle change in this pattern, and 112 of the 132 incidents this year have takenplace in the five districts of Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Thoubal andChurachandpur, suggesting little weakening of the insurgent will or ranks. 

Districts sharing the international border with Myanmar - Chandel and Ukhrul- have been somewhat marginally affected with 10 and 5 reported incidents,respectively. More significant is the 'element of spread' of violence whichinvolves at least 16 outfits. All major as well as many fringe groupings, of the30 odd outfits in the state, with an estimated 10,000 cadres between them, havebeen involved in the violence this year.

Crucially, the largest proportion of this violence has been focused on the wellprotected neighbourhood of the capital city, Imphal. Manipur has a 14,000 strongpolice force (both armed and civil) - the third strongest in the region behindAssam and Nagaland - four India Reserve Battalions (IRB), as well as very strongcontingents of the Army and para-military forces, with a large proportion ofthis force dedicated to the protection of the state capital and itsinhabitants. 

However, it is the capital city along with the twin districts of Imphal Eastand Imphal West that have already witnessed 56 of the 132 militancy relatedincidents in 2005. Militants of different groups have been able to lob grenades,extort money and shoot at police personnel and civilians in the capital and inits vicinity, and have demonstrated fairly dramatically that not even the'saturated' capital city is adequately secured; the state's control over theother Valley districts could hardly be better.

Nevertheless, while linking the SF's 'synchronised onslaught' with the UnitedNational Liberation Front's (UNLF) February 2, 2005, call for a peace processwith the government of India may not be a good idea, the fact that a militantgroup known for its obstinate stand against any negotiated resolution of theconflict has finally broken its silence reflects definite shifts in theprevailing scenario. The UNLF has mooted a four-point proposal to bring the'Indo-Manipur conflict' to a logical conclusion:

1. A plebiscite under United Nations (UN) supervision to elicit the opinion of the people of the state on the core issue of restoration of Manipur's independence.
2. Deployment of a UN peace- keeping force in Manipur to ensure the process is free and fair.
3. Surrender of arms by the UNLF to the UN force, matched with the withdrawal of Indian troops.  
4. Handing over of political power by the UN in accordance with the results of the plebiscite.

While these terms make nonsense of the proposal and would be rejected out ofhand by Delhi, they are in keeping with a standing convention in the region formilitant groups to set out with such extreme demands, and then to barter eachelement of such an immoderate position against significant advantages for thegroup and its leadership at the negotiating table. The offer of a negotiatedsettlement by an obdurately violent group like the UNLF is, consequently, asignificant movement forward.

The Revolutionary People's Front (RPF), the 'political wing' of the People'sLiberation Army (PLA), has also come out with a statement that appeared tosuggest qualified approval of the UNLF's move. RPF 'president' Irengbam Chaoren stated,"We will be watching how New Delhi reacts to the UNLF central committee'sproposal as well as the latter's next move." Delhi is still to respond,though reports suggest that it is 'examining' the Chief Minister's plea toconsider the proposals with urgency.

SF operations and peace offers notwithstanding, militants in Manipur stillcontinue to issue diktats and also appear to be able to secure substantialobedience on their decrees. This is the case, not only with the directives ofthe better known groups who are known to have perfected the act, such as theKanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), but even fringe outfits such as the ManipurHuman Rights Protection Guild (MHRPG) and the United Socialist RevolutionaryArmy (USRA). 

Thus, apart from the continuation of its 'drive' against the 'corrupt'education system, a campaign which has targeted a number of officials, teachersand students, and which enjoys a certain measure of popular support from thepeople, the KYKL has also put a ban on 'cabin restaurants' which it hasdescribed as a 'major factor in the moral degeneration of our society' as theyfacilitate 'immoral' promiscuity among boys and girls. On at least twooccasions, owners and workers in such restaurants have been shot at by theoutfit's cadres for violating the order.

Incidents of extortion also remain at an alarmingly high level. Unidentifiedterrorists shot at and injured Th. Kulachandra, Principal of the ManipurInstitute of Technology-Takyelpat, at Mongsangei in the Imphal West district onMarch 2 after he failed to meet an extortion demand for Rs. 500,000. The MHRPGorchestrated an attack on the Japanese-funded sericulture project office inBamon Leikai in Imphal East District. Reports suggest that the attack wascarried out for the non-payment of 'taxes' which the outfit had imposed on theofficials associated with the project. 

The non-descript People's United Liberation Front (PULF), through anotification on February 18 and a subsequent attack on a vehicle, managed tostop all transport for four consecutive days along the important Imphal-Morehroad, hailed as one of the future trade routes between India's Northeast andSouth East Asia. The PULF action was the result of the transporters' failure toaccede to its repeated 'requests' for 'payment of tax'. 

The United Kuki Liberation Front (UKLF), through a press note on January 15,had demanded that the Irrigation and Flood Control Department should clear their'annual departmental taxes' before January 23. The response of the department isnot known. However, past practices reveal that resistance to such diktats hasbeen infrequent. 

An insight into an ingenious method of 'taxation' came to light with thearrest of 16 transport agency proprietors by the Imphal West district police, onMarch 8. These proprietors had purchased government taxation forms (Sales Taxform no. 35 & 36) from the KYKL, at a price of Rupees 500,000 each and hadmanaged to evade paying tax to the government. Inquiries revealed that the KYKLhad forced two taxation officers to put their signatures on copies of suchforms, and these were later 'sold' to the transporters.

Nevertheless, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh seems encouraged byrecent SF 'successes'. On March 10, on the occasion of the surrender of twomilitants - an event of great rarity in the state, though commonplace in otherconflict theatres in the region - the Chief Minister asked for a better'rehabilitation package' that could help bring more and more militants back intothe mainstream. The Chief Minister said, "The government's surrender policyhas to be revamped so as to make it a more comprehensive one, and to ensureproper rehabilitation of surrendered militants." Previously, on March 7,the Chief Minister also claimed to have received positive signals from two othermilitant organisations (whom he chose not to identify) regarding peace talkswith the government.

Regrettably, however, given current ground realities, the increasing levels ofviolence in the state, as well as the rising demonstration of publicdissatisfaction - both with the political leadership and sections of the SFs -any optimism regarding the resolution of the multiplicity of insurgencies inManipur in the foreseeable future would be altogether misplaced

Bibhu Prasad Routray is Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management.Courtesy,  the South Asia Intelligence Review of the South Asia TerrorismPortal